Belcorra's Vault Journal
While there was much to be learned within the journal's magically preserved pages the heroes were able to pick out several key passages and bits of information to reference back in time of need:
I. Discovery of Gauntlight and its hidden history
II. Nhimbaloth and Theology
III. Repurposing Gauntlight
IV. The Fulcrum Lattice and the Fulcrum Lenses
I.
"...My forays into the origins of Gauntlight have been fruitful, but I feel it is something I may never truly understand. The artifice of the Shori defy conventional understanding at every turn and only the Nhimbaloth granted divinations I gamble my very existence for grant any measure of success.... It seems that its creation was originally a work of an ancient people from a time before the Hyperion empire. A people desperate to win a war against Nhimbaloth, her kindred siblings, and their multitudinous spawn. At some point this structure devoted to furthering the understanding of the arcane was lost to the enemy, transformed into a temple for the Empty Death. These ancients would ultimately succeed in closing the hole they had ripped open and driving back Nhimbaloth and her siblings, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. The influence of these outer powers were insidious subtly twisting the mind, body and soul of those it affected...none could be trusted. Without the aid of divine or natural magics to call upon, the Shori backed into a corner ultimately chose to sacrifice everything for a chance to fight back. But no matter how thoroughly they scoured and scarred the landscape the touch of the aberrant ones could never truly be erased. It seems for ages this place lay dormant until it's rediscovery by 3 mages of uncommon prowess seeking to push the magic that governs life and death to new horizons. Although successful ultimately their efforts were limited by their own fear and cowardice. They never let Nhimbaloth enlighten them with her gravelight....if they had dared to grasp further who knows what more they could have accomplished. Apparently the overbearing guidance of their leader Malak Blackheart is what prevented them from mastering the realms of undeath as well as life. Little of use remains of his work besides his notes on the Black King prophecy: "From the shadowed depths, a spectral specter shall awaken, draped in the shroud of eternal night.
With eyes of endless malice and a soul steeped in ancient darkness, this harbinger of oblivion shall wield the arcane as a blade, gathering shadows to its side.
Through cryptic arts and veiled machinations, it shall weave a web of darkness to ensnare the world.
Across the seas of Terra, whispers of the lost shall drift like mist upon the wind, and his looming shadow of annihilation shall descend upon all lands.
Kingdoms shall falter and empires shall crumble, and a veil of darkness shall descend
At the final hour, should the malevolent sovereign ascend to its full and terrible power, all hope shall be extinguished, and the fate of all life shall be sealed in eternal night.
Yet, amidst the encroaching darkness, a solitary beacon shall flicker, casting its feeble light against the encroaching shadows.
With courage unyielding and resolve unshakeable, a chosen few shall stand against the tide, defying the prophecy's grim decree.
But let it be known, should the black king ever claim its dark throne, the world shall be consumed by the abyss, and the echoes of its fall shall reverberate through the void for all eternity."
*Malak's Note: Confirmed the Original prophecy does not capitalize nor emphasize "Black King" counter to what is displayed on the official documentation. There is also the matter that during the Crisis, it could not be said that he never claimed a throne. Despite Sable's words and the Imperial stance of the matter I can not rest knowing the prophecy may still come to pass. I will not be blinded by a convenient lie. Ever the teacher, I will continue to wage this war the only way I know how...by guiding and aiding those deparate gifted few who may turn to the trappings of lichdome...saving the ones I can...and exterminating those I cannot. Can one be both Archmage and outlaw? For surely I am well outside the realm of imperial rules now. All I can hope is that one day I shall be vindicated or if that is not possible... perish swiftly enough that I cannot lament my errors. Malak was....or perhaps is a man ruled by his own fear and paranoia. unworthy of the fawning worship of the organization that named themselves after him and his compatriots: Chimera. I will say that the cult of arcanists were convenient and easy to twist. However their potential for the most part was very limited and the research they had unearthed before I came here were as pearls before swine. Serving me was the best thing that could have happened to them.
II. While Nhimbaloth domain exists somewhere outside of the Sacred Barrier we have managed to learn some things about it. Although the multiverse of planes cannot truly be thought of as a conventional landscape we believe her realm "Voidbracken" lays somewhere near where the river of souls crosses the Longshadow. Past where the spiritual waters have been uncommonly dark and turbulent. Hidden in this lightless and inhospitable place her....or perhaps merely a fragment of her...feeds and grows day by day, consuming both her faithful and unsuspecting spirits who wind up too close to her unfathomable maw. It seems among the divine she has special enmity from Hugh Mann, Hassana, and Sylas. The latter two seeing her as an intruder into their domains as well as a source of malevolence and corruption. Although the power of the Necro Syphon seems to have blinded Sylas's faithful to an extent, I know not what subtle mischief Hassana and her arachnids work behind the scenes. Trickery and subtlety is her path and the threat of her faithful drives me to grow my power and accomplish my conquest with all possible speed. Hugh Mann a patron of heroism and legends stands ideologically opposed to the Empty Death. I doubt that dullard of a "God" would even think that hard about it though, needing no excuse to declare war on something he would never see as more than a monster from beyond the stars.
III. Many of Gauntlights functions remain dormant or inactive prior to my rediscovery of them. It took much blood, sweat, and sacrifice to restore the embers of life and magic to this forgotten place. The parameters of the remaining arcane mechanisms were too specific, essentially being mostly unresponsive to us because we do not possess a Shori bloodline. Never the less by building on the ingenious solutions of Malak, Isaaru, and Lydia and wielding Nhimbaloth's forbidden knowledge we were finally able to bind the power to my spirit as well. Now only I and my lieutenants have any control of the functionality.
IV. The Fulcrum Lens each represent a different aspect of Nhimbaloth:
Crimson - Hunger
Emerald - Mutation
Ebon - Undeath
Ochre - Despair
Each one contains a sliver of Nhimbaloth's essence and if a being were to invest in all 4 at once they would be brought into direct communion and presumably judgement by Nhimbaloth. How I yearn to take that final step and see my conquest of the continent complete in an instant....but I can't.... not yet. Part of the allure of Nhimbaloth is absolution, knowing you can commit any crime in this life because you are guaranteed either oblivion or transformation in the next (in lieu of an eternity of torture). Nhimbaloth is neither merciful or forgiving and always takes her due one way or another...when Rosethorn took my life it was only because I had invested in the power of the Ebon Lens that I was able to arise again. That artifact and its power over undeath shall insure that my vengeance shall never perish. If I must resurrect 1000 times for Limberry to fall then so be it. I shall gather my army, gather my power, and once I have conquered Odaro...the home and namesake of the adventuring party who thwarted my first glorious conquest....then perhaps I can chance using the power of the other 3 lenses and finally have my revenge on Terra.
I. Discovery of Gauntlight and its hidden history
II. Nhimbaloth and Theology
III. Repurposing Gauntlight
IV. The Fulcrum Lattice and the Fulcrum Lenses
I.
"...My forays into the origins of Gauntlight have been fruitful, but I feel it is something I may never truly understand. The artifice of the Shori defy conventional understanding at every turn and only the Nhimbaloth granted divinations I gamble my very existence for grant any measure of success.... It seems that its creation was originally a work of an ancient people from a time before the Hyperion empire. A people desperate to win a war against Nhimbaloth, her kindred siblings, and their multitudinous spawn. At some point this structure devoted to furthering the understanding of the arcane was lost to the enemy, transformed into a temple for the Empty Death. These ancients would ultimately succeed in closing the hole they had ripped open and driving back Nhimbaloth and her siblings, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. The influence of these outer powers were insidious subtly twisting the mind, body and soul of those it affected...none could be trusted. Without the aid of divine or natural magics to call upon, the Shori backed into a corner ultimately chose to sacrifice everything for a chance to fight back. But no matter how thoroughly they scoured and scarred the landscape the touch of the aberrant ones could never truly be erased. It seems for ages this place lay dormant until it's rediscovery by 3 mages of uncommon prowess seeking to push the magic that governs life and death to new horizons. Although successful ultimately their efforts were limited by their own fear and cowardice. They never let Nhimbaloth enlighten them with her gravelight....if they had dared to grasp further who knows what more they could have accomplished. Apparently the overbearing guidance of their leader Malak Blackheart is what prevented them from mastering the realms of undeath as well as life. Little of use remains of his work besides his notes on the Black King prophecy: "From the shadowed depths, a spectral specter shall awaken, draped in the shroud of eternal night.
With eyes of endless malice and a soul steeped in ancient darkness, this harbinger of oblivion shall wield the arcane as a blade, gathering shadows to its side.
Through cryptic arts and veiled machinations, it shall weave a web of darkness to ensnare the world.
Across the seas of Terra, whispers of the lost shall drift like mist upon the wind, and his looming shadow of annihilation shall descend upon all lands.
Kingdoms shall falter and empires shall crumble, and a veil of darkness shall descend
At the final hour, should the malevolent sovereign ascend to its full and terrible power, all hope shall be extinguished, and the fate of all life shall be sealed in eternal night.
Yet, amidst the encroaching darkness, a solitary beacon shall flicker, casting its feeble light against the encroaching shadows.
With courage unyielding and resolve unshakeable, a chosen few shall stand against the tide, defying the prophecy's grim decree.
But let it be known, should the black king ever claim its dark throne, the world shall be consumed by the abyss, and the echoes of its fall shall reverberate through the void for all eternity."
*Malak's Note: Confirmed the Original prophecy does not capitalize nor emphasize "Black King" counter to what is displayed on the official documentation. There is also the matter that during the Crisis, it could not be said that he never claimed a throne. Despite Sable's words and the Imperial stance of the matter I can not rest knowing the prophecy may still come to pass. I will not be blinded by a convenient lie. Ever the teacher, I will continue to wage this war the only way I know how...by guiding and aiding those deparate gifted few who may turn to the trappings of lichdome...saving the ones I can...and exterminating those I cannot. Can one be both Archmage and outlaw? For surely I am well outside the realm of imperial rules now. All I can hope is that one day I shall be vindicated or if that is not possible... perish swiftly enough that I cannot lament my errors. Malak was....or perhaps is a man ruled by his own fear and paranoia. unworthy of the fawning worship of the organization that named themselves after him and his compatriots: Chimera. I will say that the cult of arcanists were convenient and easy to twist. However their potential for the most part was very limited and the research they had unearthed before I came here were as pearls before swine. Serving me was the best thing that could have happened to them.
II. While Nhimbaloth domain exists somewhere outside of the Sacred Barrier we have managed to learn some things about it. Although the multiverse of planes cannot truly be thought of as a conventional landscape we believe her realm "Voidbracken" lays somewhere near where the river of souls crosses the Longshadow. Past where the spiritual waters have been uncommonly dark and turbulent. Hidden in this lightless and inhospitable place her....or perhaps merely a fragment of her...feeds and grows day by day, consuming both her faithful and unsuspecting spirits who wind up too close to her unfathomable maw. It seems among the divine she has special enmity from Hugh Mann, Hassana, and Sylas. The latter two seeing her as an intruder into their domains as well as a source of malevolence and corruption. Although the power of the Necro Syphon seems to have blinded Sylas's faithful to an extent, I know not what subtle mischief Hassana and her arachnids work behind the scenes. Trickery and subtlety is her path and the threat of her faithful drives me to grow my power and accomplish my conquest with all possible speed. Hugh Mann a patron of heroism and legends stands ideologically opposed to the Empty Death. I doubt that dullard of a "God" would even think that hard about it though, needing no excuse to declare war on something he would never see as more than a monster from beyond the stars.
III. Many of Gauntlights functions remain dormant or inactive prior to my rediscovery of them. It took much blood, sweat, and sacrifice to restore the embers of life and magic to this forgotten place. The parameters of the remaining arcane mechanisms were too specific, essentially being mostly unresponsive to us because we do not possess a Shori bloodline. Never the less by building on the ingenious solutions of Malak, Isaaru, and Lydia and wielding Nhimbaloth's forbidden knowledge we were finally able to bind the power to my spirit as well. Now only I and my lieutenants have any control of the functionality.
IV. The Fulcrum Lens each represent a different aspect of Nhimbaloth:
Crimson - Hunger
Emerald - Mutation
Ebon - Undeath
Ochre - Despair
Each one contains a sliver of Nhimbaloth's essence and if a being were to invest in all 4 at once they would be brought into direct communion and presumably judgement by Nhimbaloth. How I yearn to take that final step and see my conquest of the continent complete in an instant....but I can't.... not yet. Part of the allure of Nhimbaloth is absolution, knowing you can commit any crime in this life because you are guaranteed either oblivion or transformation in the next (in lieu of an eternity of torture). Nhimbaloth is neither merciful or forgiving and always takes her due one way or another...when Rosethorn took my life it was only because I had invested in the power of the Ebon Lens that I was able to arise again. That artifact and its power over undeath shall insure that my vengeance shall never perish. If I must resurrect 1000 times for Limberry to fall then so be it. I shall gather my army, gather my power, and once I have conquered Odaro...the home and namesake of the adventuring party who thwarted my first glorious conquest....then perhaps I can chance using the power of the other 3 lenses and finally have my revenge on Terra.
